Neurodivergent-Coded Characters

All main characters in this anthology are canonically neurodivergent!

cw: depicts depression, suicidal ideation & attempts, SH, violent meltdowns, child abuse, bullying.

While outdated terminology is used, as the title suggests, the FL is autistic & has OCD, and the protagonist and at least one side character are also neurodivergent. All canonically! It does a great job showing how ND ppl have diff needs, methods of handling trauma, & can take responsibility for their actions. Realllllllllllly good.

Chapters 5-7 of this wholesome slice of life drama about a clinical psychiatrist in Japan and the patients he treats features a canonically autistic patient and mentions ADHD, and chapters 9-11 feature a couple of characters who canonically have BPD.

An album I've created to collect scenes that feature examples of neurodivergent coding. If I get enough examples, I may create separate lists for different types of neurodiversity.

Protagonist is an autistic 15-year-old. The major character in this bittersweet & cute slice of life story, her aunt Makio, is so painfully relatable to me I can only rightly put her in the AUDHD category. And damn, it's so woven into her portrayal and her life on multiple levels. It's too real!! Their developing relationship as family is really complex and sweet. There's also an autistic lawyer side character. 10/10. Please go watch the new anime adaptation too!

A cute BL romance drama with a strongly ADHD-coded male lead. He's inattentive, disorganized, impulsive, forgetful, and has object permanence issues. The main conflict in the story revolves around how his ADHD traits impact his relationship with the main character.

The ML in this romdram def has ADHD-coding, dopamine-chasing & RSD among them, and it does a good job of showing the negative effects it has on ur social life in a nuanced, human way. Honestly hit home a lot, the struggle with inconsistency & nobody understanding ur choices bc nobody gets how ADHD steers ur brain.

The protagonist in this cute college Yuri romance is AUDHD-coded. She canonically fidgets specifically to help herself think, is impulsive and easily distracted, she stims when she's happy and has unique tastes.

The protag & ML of this incredibly cute shoujo romcom are both very different in their type of autism, but by god are they both autistic! Protag also has some possible ADHD-coding as well. Other characters in their friend group also have neurodivergent coding in different flavors.

How could I make a list of ND-coded manga without including this?? Laios, one of the members of the main cast, is SO strongly autistic-coded, as is his sister Falin. I'd argue the side characters Shiro and Kabru are as well. They're all different (& often conflicting) flavors of ASD.